A Pawn?

After Levi had finished looking over his strangely, and suddenly, toned physique, he began sprinting back to the fort. Put simply, he was fast. Faster than he had ever been. Levi dodged and weaved through the thickets of underbrush and sticks that littered his path out of the woods. When he emerged from the woods in front of the fort gates, he was laughing.

Levi had never felt so good! He began walking towards the gates, a giant smile on his face. Levi nodded at the watchmen as he walked through. Levi only got wide eyed stares from them in return. Instead of taking his usual evasive route home, he took the straight forward path. There was a group of boys playing soldier in an alley as he walked through the streets. One of them noticed Levi, and pointed him out to his buddies. Pretty soon, Levi was surrounded by them, the same group that beat him up just a little while ago.

"Hey there Levi, went on some training spree did ya? That supposed to scare us?" The boy, Richard, who noticed Levi said loudly.

"So, that's what you've been doing for the past couple weeks huh?" Another boy, Zane, commented. That sentence made Levi's heart drop.

"A couple weeks? More like a damn month mate. This bloke's been missing. Training? You nitwits ought look closer. Giant bloody mess his clothes are in, looks like he was mauled by a lion! He spent his whole time running, guaranteed!" David, one of the taller boys, laughed.

"Aw, you're right mate, look at the blood stains, oi, isn't that a brand right there? Where exactly do you go lad?" Henry, the fattest of the bunch, pointed the brand out. Without realizing he was doing it, Levi had been cowering slightly from the boys.

"See, still a coward. No matter how much muscle you gain, you can't stand up to us." Richard then pushed Levi towards the alley they had come from. That was when the most extraordinary thing happened, Levi... fought back. He punched Richard as hard as he could. He didn't realize his own strength, Levi had sent Richard to the ground with that single punch. The other boys froze and looked at Richard, except for one, who ran to check on Richard.

"Holy Shit Mates! Richard's out cold!" Adam, the tallest of the boys, as well as the loudest, shouted as he looked Richard over. The remainder of the boys then looked at Levi.

"Come on then, let's see just how much of a weak 'coward' I really am." He smiled as he raised his fists.

"Jesus mate, did you really spend that month training in the woods? Look mate, I'm sorry alright? It was all meant in fun, honest!" Henry immediately got on his knees and began pleading.

"Wait I've been gone a month?" Levi asked finally.

"Well, yeah. The Smith Estate has been in an uproar about it the past few weeks. I honestly thought the Monster of the Woods had gotten ya myself." Zane began backing slowly away as he answered.

"A fucking month?" Levi stated dumbfounded.

"Oi, are you blokes dense in the head? So he knocked Richard out in one go, don't mean he can do it again." David raised his fists and swung at me. His punch was slow, letting Levi dodge easily. he returned a punch, sending him to the ground unconscious as well. The remaining boys just stared at the second unconscious boy with the plainest faces he had ever seen.

"Can I please get home?" Levi finally sighed as he broke the silence. The boys said nothing as they moved to the side to allow him by. Cautiously, Levi moved on past them, keeping a watchful eye on them. They did nothing as he continued on his way down the street.

"I'm not sure if I should be excited about my new found strength, or terrified of it." Levi muttered as he took his attention away from the boys. Once he was a good distance away from them, Levi stopped to ponder their words. The first, was his appearance. He was a bloody disheveled mess. Though he could only see his clothes, He was certain the rest of him looked just as bad.

"I should hurry home for a bath." Levi thought to himself as he began running home. It didn't take long to reach his family's manor, as a matter of fact, it took less than two minutes to travel the two kilometers from the gate district to the noble estates district.

The moment he reached the gated entry, the two sell swords his father had hired to guard the gates, drew their swords and pointed them at Levi briefly, before lowering them and immediately calling for assistance.

"Master Levi, are you alright? Do you need a doctor? Just relax, We'll see to it you get proper treatment. WHERES THAT BLASTED MAID SERVANT?" Eric, the most kind of the two sell swords, called out. Levi just stood there, his face began to feel hot from the embarrassment. Not only did he yell loud enough to get the attention of my family, but the family across the way.

"Oh, did Levi make it back? Such a shame, I was kind of hoping you'd never come back." I could hear Victoria, the noble daughter of Baron Reginald Grayson, who happened to live in that particular manor across the way. I simply ignored her.

"Best get the shirt off, have to see the extent of the damage." Franky, the more serious of the two sell swords, stated as he gripped Levi's tattered shirt and tore it off. Due to the amount of damage, the shirt came off extremely easy.

"I'll be damned, there's not a scratch on him. But, I could swear I remembered him being a bit chunkier." Levi shifted uncomfortably when Eric stated that out loud. He was also aware of the studious prying eyes behind him.

"Levi? Oh goodness me!" Levi's mother had walked up the gates to open them, as they could only be opened from the inside, but then averted her eyes before she did so.

"I need a bath." Levi said simply as he rushed past and into the house. He didn't even bother telling anyone anything, he just headed for his room on the third floor of the estate manor. Levi immediately headed straight for the mirror. His reflection shocked him. He was damn handsome! His skin had bronzed, and his facial features had sharpened. His hair was no longer short and choppy, but instead long and straight. His muscles were definitely defined and chiseled, as if he had been training as a knight his whole life. His eyes had even cleared up and became a sharper blue color.

"Oh wow, what happened to me?" Levi asked aloud

"You died." A familiar voice answered him, scaring him enough to squeak a little as he spun around. It was the girl from the grove.

"Well, that's very obvious miss, how did you get in here?" Levi asked her as he cautiously backed up towards my door.

"Now, is this any way to treat your savior? See that mark there? That's a binding contract, well, the signing has yet to be completed. I didn't expect you so soon by the way. It usually takes around a year or two for a Pawn to fully develop and awaken. It makes it easier for us Angels to take them away with us." The girl rambled.

"Uh, okay, I'm sorry, did you say Angels? And what's a 'Pawn'?" Levi inquired with a nervous chuckle.

"Uh, yeah, I mean is it not obvious? What else could bring you back from death? Enhance and improve your feeble mortal body to transcend to immortality? Only Gods trusted soldiers, I mean, duh, guy. Jesus I really hope I didn't just contract a blubbering moron for a servant. And a Pawn is an Angels human subordinate that's been granted some angelic power. Now, back to the contract. I need you to confirm that you are willing to serve me with absolute devotion." The girl, who claimed to be an Angel, stated as she stood up and walked up to levi, placing her hand on the brand. The brand instantly responded by lighting up brightly.

"Holy, what the?" Levi gasped as he moved back a step.

"Oh calm down would you? Just say that you agree to the contract." The girl once again stated.

"What contract? What happens if I refuse? I have way too many questions that I want answered?" Levi immediately asked.

"If you refuse you die. The contract is in your chest. Just accept already." The girl answered impatiently.

"Okay, well death is a pretty convincing argument. Then I accept the contract." Levi responded, not wanting to risk another moment in the empty darkness. The moment he accepted the contract, the brand glowed bright and hot, and chains suddenly appeared around him and the girl. When the chains and hot light dissipated, a branding of chains had appeared on the girls right arm. The girl the smiled and looked right at Levi.

"You now belong to me, Levi Smith. My name is Rachel. Welcome to the Scout Faction of Gods army." Rachel said as she returned to the bed and sat down. Levi was so confused, but now his body was humming with intense energy, and he was certain he had just gotten himself involved with something way over his head.